A Man of the Stars
by I Swear On The Styx
Summary: Artemis, the chaste Huntress, has met her match. A man as brilliant with the bow as she, one who goes by the name Orion. She falls in love with him, but as one of the maiden goddesses, it's a platonic sort of love. But then, Apollo gets jealous. And Artemis will have her revenge.


**Written by Riley, author of ****Elena's Story****. **

**For any of you who read ****Elena's Story ****and have gotten to chapter 14, you're in the right place. If you don't have any idea what that means, it's alright. You're still in the right place. **

-xxx-

Alone in the forest, a girl sat in the grass. Dew coated each blade, as it wasn't quite dawn yet. The girl couldn't have been older than thirteen, and was brushing her long dark hair. She had heard whispers- rumors- of a great hunter, who was supposedly a hunter as great as the goddess herself. This hunter, however, was not the god Apollo, her twin brother. He, the hunter, boasted that he was as great- if not better- at hunting with a bow, than Artemis herself.

She was enraged with these claims- who could be a better archer than the goddess of the hunt? No one, of course. So Artemis set out on her silver chariot, pulled by seven pure-white doe, to find this fabled man. When she arrived, first meeting this supposedly-excellent hunter, she was enthralled. Watching from the shadows, she was that he was indeed as great as spoken of. He had not noticed her arrival, as she had not wanted to be seen, so when she spoke, he became alarmed.

"I have seen many a hunter in my time," she said, "but very few with such skill, young hunter." He turned to see who had spoken to him, but he was perplexed with what he saw. A child- a girl, at that- was speaking to him as if she had seen all, having lived hundreds of his lives.

"Who are you, young one?" he asked, aiming his bow, which was notched with an arrow, to the ground. She smiled haughtily, and spoke.

"Do not lower your bow, hunter, when you know not of the enemy."

The hunter had barely a moment to act before deflecting an arrow that would surely have pierced his heart if he had been any other.

"Your archery skills rival the gods," he said, looking her over cautiously, as of she might strike again, "Perhaps you are the Lady Artemis?" she nodded. "But you are naught more than a child!" he cried, considering it for the first time.

Her eyes lowered and when she spoke, her tone was deadly, "Watch who you are speaking to, boy. I could have shot a thousand arrows before that last breath escaped your lips. I cannot be wounded by a mortal, no matter how you strike me," Artemis said, her voice icy when the man started to lift his bow, "I do not favor men. I would as soon turn you into a stag as take a walk in the forest."

"I will watch my words, but perhaps you should watch your ego, as well, my dear," the hunter smirked, shooting an arrow that narrowly missed her nose. Artemis' eyes shot open. She lifted her silver bow, pulling the string taught. A single silver arrow, which gleamed like moonlight, appeared as she pulled it further and further back stopping at the curve of her lips. She released it without a breath, aiming for where he had been standing moments before. He leapt back a few feet, and soon enough, the two were letting arrows fly at speeds a normal mortal would not have been able to comprehend.

But as Artemis quickly found, this man was not a normal mortal. He could aim an arrow as naturally as breathing, second nature to him. He rarely missed his mark, unless of course, it was the goddess. The hunter was able to deflect any arrow she shot at him if he didn't move out of the way quickly enough to avoid them. The two hunters were evenly matched, more so even than the goddess's brother, the god of archery.

By daybreak, the goddess and hunter were worn from the night. They had both used a thousand arrows, yet not a single hit it's mark. The glade was littered with silver and wood arrows, and the animals had scampered into their homes long before. The two sat, panting, in the grass as the sun started to rise over the horizon.

"Apollo," Artemis huffed, not meaning to. The hunter seemed to have heard something, as he looked at her with curiosity.

"What brings you here, goddess?" he asked. She looked at him with eyes that seemed almost like liquid moonlight.

"What is your name? You have proven yourself worthy of my blessing," she asked him. The question threw him off guard. He normally would have told her his name before anything. He was one to believe in first impressions. In her case, it wasn't about impressing her- it was about holding one's own.

"My name?" he asked, and she nodded. "Orion."

-xxx-

"My lady, we have been worried about you," she said, worriedly. "You have been spending most of your time with that… that _man_," the Huntress said with distaste, her nose, which was spotted with freckles, scrunched up. Over the past few months, the lady Artemis had gradually been spending more and more time with the hunter Orion.

Artemis had been fascinated with the man since he, a _mortal_- a mortal _man_, no less- has almost bested her in their skirmish in the forest. Rivaling a god in anything often resulted in a jealous and annoyed god, such as Athena and Arachne. But to Artemis, it was quite the opposite- she thrived with the challenge.

She had started to hunt with him every night, often neglecting her Huntresses. They thought it was in poor taste to spend so much time with a man- all men eventually become greedy and lustful.

Artemis simply brushed their fears away, "Do not be concerned, my Huntress. And do not think of my affairs as much importance. All of you are my foremost priority."

The Huntresses were not sated, quite yet. What if she broke her vows to be chaste? The Huntresses scolded themselves. If they couldn't trust their goddess, then they couldn't trust anyone.

-xxx-

"Artemis."

"Yes, brother?"

"You should not hunt with that man," Apollo told her sternly.

Artemis smiled, "Why is everyone telling me this lately? Do not worry, brother, I will still have time to hunt with you," she told him, patting his shoulder. As she left, she missed the jealous frown on his lips.

-xxx-

In her friendship with the hunter, Artemis was only concerned with one thing. Orion had boasted that he would rid the world of all wild animals. She would wearily shake her head, and tell him he would do no such thing. Orion would tell her that he would, and then occasionally, they would get into spats about it, and one or the other would storm off, only to be found shooting angrily at a tree or bush hours later. One or the other would apologize, and all would be forgiven.

"I tell you I will!" Orion whispered fiercely. He clenched his fist around an arrow, letting the point dig into the ground. The firelight danced angrily across their faces, the flames crackling was the only break of the silence.

"You will not!" Artemis said, the goddess paused to glance at the full moon, "It cannot be done, to say the least. I can replenish any animal I choose."

Orion frowned, and pulled the arrow from the earth, his hansom face appearing red in the light of the fire, "It is possible, Artemis."

"It is not- it would take a thousand years for any one hunter."

"We both know I have the skills of many hunters, do we not?" he demanded.

"That is true, but if you were to do so…" she said, and turned away. He couldn't see her face, so he finished the sentence for her.

"You would have to kill me," he said bluntly. He looked at the fire, and waited for her to confirm this.

"No. If you were to destroy the wild animals, what use would there be of me?" she asked, so low that it was almost a whisper. Orion whipped his head around to stare at his companion. She was sitting with her knees to her chest, and her arms wrapped around them. He was about to speak when she spoke again. "We both know I would not be able to kill you, anyway. Turn you into a stag, maybe, but not kill you," she said with a quirk to her lips.

Orion was far too shocked to laugh. He had expected her to nod and say she would kill him, and they would go back the their usual bickering. But now- he was never going to bring this up again. He would not be the one to kill the goddess, _his_ goddess. So he did the only thing that he thought could protect her- from him, from any others who wanted to hurt her. He would be her protector forever.

"Marry me, Artemis," Orion said to her. He turned to her beautiful, shocked face. He knew she was chaste, but that didn't matter to him. Their love was strictly platonic, one that existed through their natures, and the Hunt.

"…Orion? What- why are you asking me this?" she asked, her voice shaky. She had, no doubt, never come this close to being with another person. She had skirted around men her entire life.

"I love you Artemis, as I know you love me. This way, I can keep you safe for eternity," he tolf her, moving closer. Their eyes met.

"I'm a maiden goddess, Orion. I cannot be with a man," she said, pulling her eyes away from his, stepping way. She feared that if she had looked any longer, she might have agreed.

"Our marriage would not be of physical love, Artemis. It would be of saying that you belong to me, and I belong to you," Orion tried to reason with the girl. It brought a small, sad smile to her lips.

She stood up, and looked down at her companion, "I cannot, Orion. Even though that is true, I cannot marry you. Dawn is almost here- I must part. Goodbye, Orion," she called to him, and walked away, disappearing into the early morning mist.

Orion sighed, and drew a bow in the dirt, "Sometimes, Artemis, I wish you would be selfish for once, and do something for _you_."

-xxx-

Although Artemis rejected the marriage proposal, the rumor still spread like wildfire. That is- if you knew where to look, and Apollo did. Unfortunately, by the time they got to him, there was no 'rejection' in it. He was simply hearing that his little sister was getting married to the wretched mortal hunter. He was not going to allow that to happen.

She was _his_. _His_ little sister. _His_ hunting companion. _His_. He wasn't going to allow a measly human take her away from him. He devised a plan to kill the hunter.

And Artemis was going to set it in motion.

-xxx-

"Of course I can hunt with you tonight, Apollo," Artemis said offhandedly, paying little attention to her brother. She was petting a doe who was resting her young head in Artemis' lap.

"Good. What of that friend of yours? Orion, was it?" Apollo asked, leaning against a tree.

"Orion? We had plans to hunt tonight, but I can always hunt with him tomorrow, he will not mind," she replied.

"May I tell him? I would like very to meet this famed archer, you know," Apollo asked. Artemis nodded, agreeing.

"You may- I have to fetch my bow from my huntresses, anyway."

He waved as his sister disappeared. Apollo himself vanished, and reappeared on the cliff where Orion was waiting for Artemis. Once again, Orion didn't sense the godly presence.

Apollo called on the power of Gaia, mother earth, to summon a great scorpion. One that had impenetrable armor and the stamina of three hundred men. Apollo hid while the scorpion attacked. Orion pulled out a sword, and Apollo watched in amusement as the hunter met his match. He was struggling to keep his hold on the ground, to defend himself. He saw the only option- jump into the sea, and swim to the far-off island.

He did so, and Apollo laughed. The 'great hunter' Orion was about to meet his end.

-xxx-

"I think hunting with that hunter has made you soft, sister," Apollo teased.

"It has not," she protested, slinging her bow over her shoulder.

"Oh? It hasn't? I bet you cannot hit that dark dot in the water. It is much too small," he pointed to the spot far in the distance. Artemis peered down at it.

"Easy. Just watch, brother," Artemis raised the bow, and pulled back a silver arrow. She let it fly, and it soon hit its mark. Once it hit, she knew something was wrong. Apollo was smiling, and she had an uneasy feeling that he knew what was going on.

She prayed to her uncle, Poseidon, to bring whatever it was that she had shot to shore. She called her silver chariot, which carried her to the island. Once she saw the body, she screamed in frustration and anger. There, lying on the sand, was the body of her love, Orion.

"Apollo, _I swear on the Styx_ that I will get revenge!" Artemis screamed. Tears falling, she bent down and whispered something. She cupped her hand over Orion's mouth, a sliver mist appearing in her hand a moment later. His body disappeared when she cupped he mist in her hands. She placed the mist to her lips, whispered a few words, sending it to the sky. "Live on forever in the stars, my love, Orion."

There was another constellation that night in the sky, one that has been there ever since. A man fighing a scorpion, forever a reminder of the man she had lost.

-xxx-

**This combines several variations of the story/myth, the parts I liked better. This is possibly my favorite out of all the Greek myths, and I really wish it didn't end to tragically. **

**Also- Orion was the first constellation I ever saw, and that was about a month ago. **


End file.
